The final contests of the 2023 general elections will be determined on April 15. Nigeria’s 2023 general elections have kicked up a lot of dust since the first ballots were cast on February 25, but there’s still much to be resolved nearly two months later.
Between February and March, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concluded one presidential, 26 governorship, 104 senatorial, 330 federal, and 935 state constituency elections, but there are dozens of contests that are yet to be settled.
Due to technicalities that delayed the conclusion of the elections, INEC fixed April 15 for supplementary elections for two governorship contests in Adamawa and Kebbi.
As voters march to the polls in the affected places, what’s the status of the elections so far?
The Adamawa governorship election has always attracted special attention because the contest could open the door to a special history in Nigerian politics.
No woman has ever been elected governor and taken office in Nigeria, but the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru, is knocking on the door.
After the first round of voting on March 18, the lawmaker scored 390,275 votes, trailing behind the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who ended up with 421,524 votes.
INEC declared the election inconclusive because the margin of Fintiri’s lead (31,249 votes) over Binani is lower than the number of registered voters with permanent voter’s cards (PVC) in the areas where elections were canceled on March 18.
This is a condition that typically forces a supplementary election, which is why the voters with PVCs get the chance to determine the winner on April 15.
According to INEC’s data, the election will take place in 69 polling units across 20 local government areas of the state.
36,935 voters are in the position to either make history by almost unanimously swinging Binani’s way or keep Fintiri in office.
Kebbi
The contest in Kebbi may not have the same potential history-making attention, but it’s not lacking in its own political drama.
The March 18 election was marred by violence, destruction of election materials, disruption of electoral proceedings, and over-voting, according to INEC’s returning officer in the state, Professor Yusuf Sa’idu.
When INEC declared the election inconclusive, the APC’s Nasir Idris finished with 388,258 votes ahead of the PDP’s Aminu Bande with 342,980 votes.
The current margin of 45,278 votes separating the two is lower than the number of eligible voters in polling units where elections were canceled on March 18.
